Performance ratings

Calculations are based on gaming, 3DMark and Unigine test results. The calculation method is described here.

You may have noticed our ratings have changed a bit. Now we only have two: capability and usability. The capability rating compares each graphics card with GeForce GT 430 which is considered a baseline, or 100%. The rating is based on both synthetic and gaming results and shows, as the name implies, what a product is capable of.

The usability rating is obtained by dividing each card's capability rating by its price. It basically shows whether a given product is over or underpriced, considering what it can do, and thus how reasonable it is to buy it.

Below are two tables sorted by different ratings.

Sorted by capability (high to low)

#

Card

Capability rating

Usability rating

Approx. price, USD

01

2xASUS Ares II 2x3072MB, 1100/1100/6600

1700

54

3170

02

ASUS Ares II 2x3072MB, 1100/1100/6600

1330

84

1585

03

GTX 680 SLI 2x2048MB, 1000-1100/6000

1300

126

1034

04

GTX 690 2x2048MB, 914-1014/6000

1240

122

1018

05

HD 7990 2x3072MB, 1000/1000/6000

1170

108

1085

06

GTX Titan 6144MB, 837-876/6000

1040

97

1069

07

GTX 780 3072MB, 863-900/6000

970

136

712

08

HD 7970 GHz 3072MB, o/c 1100/1100/6600

870

185

470

09

GTX 770 2048MB, 1046-1075/7000

850

192

442

10

GTX 680 4096MB, 1071-1200/6000

850

151

563

11

HD 7970 GHz 3072MB, 1050/1050/6000

820

186

441

12

GTX 680 2048MB, 1000-1100/6000

790

153

517

13

HD 7970 3072MB, 925/925/5500

730

168

434

14

GTX 670 2048MB, 915-1030/6000

720

174

413

15

GTX 760 2048MB, 980-1033/6000

680

229

297

16

HD 7950 3072MB, 800/800/5000

630

186

338

17

GTX 660 Ti 2048MB, 915-1030/6000

630

208

303

18

HD 7870 2048MB, 975/975/6000

570

238

240

19

HD 7870 2048MB, 1000/1000/4800

560

235

238

20

HD 7850 2048MB, o/c 1020/1020/5600

540

255

212

21

GTX 660 2048MB, 993-1053/6000

530

247

215

22

HD 7850 2048MB, 860/860/4800

480

245

196

23

GTX 650 Ti Boost 2048MB, 980-1033/6000

460

264

174

24

HD 7850 1024MB, 900/900/4800

440

244

180

25

HD 7790 1024MB, o/c 1075/1075/6600

380

241

158

26

HD 7790 1024MB, 1000/1000/6000

360

240

150

27

GTX 650 Ti 2048MB, 925/925/5400

350

229

153

28

HD 7770 1024MB, 1000/1000/4500

290

250

116

29

GTX 550 Ti 1024MB, 900/1800/4000

270

257

105

30

HD 7750 1024MB, 880/880/4500

250

263

95

31

GTX 650 1024MB, 1058/1058/5000

230

193

119

32

HD 7730 1024MB, 800/800/4500

180

250

72

33

GT 640 2048MB, 900/900/1782

170

198

86

34

HD 6670 1024MB, 800/800/4000

150

181

83

35

HD 6570 1024MB 650/650/2000

110

180

61

36

GT 630 2048MB, 800/1600/1334

100

159

63

Sorted by usability (high to low)

#

Card

Usability rating

Capability rating

Approx. price, USD

01

GTX 650 Ti Boost 2048MB, 980-1033/6000

264

460

174

02

HD 7750 1024MB, 880/880/4500

263

250

95

03

GTX 550 Ti 1024MB, 900/1800/4000

257

270

105

04

HD 7850 2048MB, o/c 1020/1020/5600

255

540

212

05

HD 7770 1024MB, 1000/1000/4500

250

290

116

06

HD 7730 1024MB, 800/800/4500

250

180

72

07

GTX 660 2048MB, 993-1053/6000

247

530

215

08

HD 7850 2048MB, 860/860/4800

245

480

196

09

HD 7850 1024MB, 900/900/4800

244

440

180

10

HD 7790 1024MB, o/c 1075/1075/6600

241

380

158

11

HD 7790 1024MB, 1000/1000/6000

240

360

150

12

HD 7870 2048MB, 975/975/6000

238

570

240

13

HD 7870 2048MB, 1000/1000/4800

235

560

238

14

GTX 760 2048MB, 980-1033/6000

229

680

297

15

GTX 650 Ti 2048MB, 925/925/5400

229

350

153

16

GTX 660 Ti 2048MB, 915-1030/6000

208

630

303

17

GT 640 2048MB, 900/900/1782

198

170

86

18

GTX 650 1024MB, 1058/1058/5000

193

230

119

19

GTX 770 2048MB, 1046-1075/7000

192

850

442

20

HD 7950 3072MB, 800/800/5000

186

630

338

21

HD 7970 GHz 3072MB, 1050/1050/6000

186

820

441

22

HD 7970 GHz 3072MB, o/c 1100/1100/6600

185

870

470

23

HD 6670 1024MB, 800/800/4000

181

150

83

24

HD 6570 1024MB 650/650/2000

180

110

61

25

GTX 670 2048MB, 915-1030/6000

174

720

413

26

HD 7970 3072MB, 925/925/5500

168

730

434

27

GT 630 2048MB, 800/1600/1334

159

100

63

28

GTX 680 2048MB, 1000-1100/6000

153

790

517

29

GTX 680 4096MB, 1071-1200/6000

151

850

563

30

GTX 780 3072MB, 863-900/6000

136

970

712

31

GTX 680 SLI 2x2048MB, 1000-1100/6000

126

1300

1034

32

GTX 690 2x2048MB, 914-1014/6000

122

1240

1018

33

HD 7990 2x3072MB, 1000/1000/6000

108

1170

1085

34

GTX Titan 6144MB, 837-876/6000

97

1040

1069

35

ASUS Ares II 2x3072MB, 1100/1100/6600

84

1330

1585

36

2xASUS Ares II 2x3072MB, 1100/1100/6600

54

1700

3170

Top solutions like Ares II, Radeon HD 79xx, GeForce GTX Titan, GTX 780/770/690/680/670 should only be considered in terms of their capability ratings, because they are made for enthusiasts willing to spend no matter how much to get the best performance.

For other graphics cards, price plays a more important role, and the lower the product category the more critical the price is. You can see that overclocked variants occupy leading spots in the Usability Rating. Note: Remember that for our calculations we assume that prices for regular and overclocked variants are the same. The reason is that 90% of graphics cards can be overclocked rather easily.

This time GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost, Radeon HD 7750, and GeForce GTX 550 Ti have the best price/performance ratio and are the best buy.